Longlegs (2024)
While many unique voices in the horror genre have been given notable acclaim as the genre has expanded over the last number of years, one voice tragically left out of most of these appreciations is Oz Perkins. Between his inspired efforts with The Blackcoat's Daughter, I Am the Pretty Thing That Lives in the House, and Gretel & Hansel, Perkins has crafted a specific eye for filmmaking that often can challenge certain genre norms and deliver divisive results. After an over 4-year break from releasing new features, Perkins is finally back with easily his biggest showcase to date: Longlegs. After months of a major marketing campaign launched by the film's distributor, Neon, Longlegs finally has been revealed to the world and the results, typical for Perkins, are a mixed bag.
The film takes viewers to the 1990s where new FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is starting her career and is proving to be a valuable asset largely due to a seemingly psychic ability allowing her to be guided through her investigations. This is a leading reason why she is put on a mysterious serial killer investigation trying to find a killer who simply is known as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage). Targeting families with young girls whose birthdays are on the 14th of the month, Longlegs has left a series of messages using mysterious code that no one has been able to break. As Harker begins to look into the case, she begins to become more and more intertwined with it and the Longlegs killer seemingly starts to target Harker.
Immediately, the style of Longlegs is one of its most notable features. From its crafted aspect ratio to the color pallet which brings an awfully cold and tense viewing experience to life, the filmmaking behind Longlegs is impeccable. Every choice is focused and meaningful, meant to equally put the audience on edge while also giving a unique warmth at times which ultimately works to catch the audience off guard with a sudden drop into darkness. There is something deeply unsettling at the core of Longlegs and its design that creates one of the more creepy and engaging watches for the horror genre this year. The one negative is, at times, the usage of jumpscares which feel rather cheap within a film that is already so naturally horrifying.
This tension and unease bleeds into the lead performance by Monroe who is quite fantastic here. Giving a cold and reserved performance that wisely knows when to let larger emotions leak out to enhance the gravitas of a scene, Monroe truly gives a breakout performance here that speaks to her talents as an actor. It is somewhat disappointing that she has to contend with Nicolas Cage who is going to be the biggest make-it-or-break-it factor of the film for many. Cage's performance as Longlegs is a loud and wild roar that is truly camp at multiple points. While there are scenes where this works, there are also scenes where it feels like Cage pushes too far and becomes so outlandishly weird that he feels out of place in the film around him. The memeification of Cage over the last decade has created a fascinating cinematic identity for the actor as films often play into the joke of his wild on-screen presence to extremely mixed results. While it feels like Longlegs has a good grasp on trying to create something substantial and genuine with his performance, there are multiple occasions where it feels like the film loses control and the character is never as effective as it clearly should be as a result.
When it comes to the actual narrative of the film, Perkins' ambitious voice is obviously felt. For anyone expecting a completely grounded crime mystery in the same tone as Fincher's Zodiac, Longlegs evolves to something far more imaginative. Both in the lore and mythology surrounding these crimes and the third act as puzzle pieces are connected and larger reveals are exposed, Longlegs has a lot it is trying to accomplish and can get lost in trying to make it all fit. Rather than take a more simplistic route in its logic, Longlegs tries to expand with certain scenes, motivations, and general details feeling quite confusing on a first viewing. As the film tackles this, the base core of how characters act often gets overlooked leading to some major jumps with illogical decision-making and attitude.
While it is easy to get swept up in the experience of Longlegs in the moment on a first viewing as the viewer is trying to comprehend the world they are being thrown into, the more one sits with the film the more questions begin to form which will only be further exposed on multiple viewings. Once again, Perkins' ambition has led to a project that overlooks the importance of building a logical and solid foundation of world-building and structure, an issue seen throughout Perkins' filmography time and time again.
With that said, the presence of such ambition creates a viewing experience and overall feature that is at least interesting to engage with. In a time when so many directors who are given a major platform to express their voice turn to something overly safe or dull, Perkins crafts a feature that is undeniably unique to his vision as a director and it doesn't feel like he sacrifices anything along the way. One has to have respect for a filmmaker like this and it will be curious to see how his voice continues to grow with an adaptation of Stephen King's The Monkey already set for release in 2025.
While Longlegs might not be perfect, the film is still an effective thriller that is an easy recommendation overall. While not every choice will age well and there are undeniable moments where logic is tossed out the window, the final viewing experience is still both engaging and ultimately worthwhile for a clean 101-minute runtime.
The film takes viewers to the 1990s where new FBI agent Lee Harker (Maika Monroe) is starting her career and is proving to be a valuable asset largely due to a seemingly psychic ability allowing her to be guided through her investigations. This is a leading reason why she is put on a mysterious serial killer investigation trying to find a killer who simply is known as Longlegs (Nicolas Cage). Targeting families with young girls whose birthdays are on the 14th of the month, Longlegs has left a series of messages using mysterious code that no one has been able to break. As Harker begins to look into the case, she begins to become more and more intertwined with it and the Longlegs killer seemingly starts to target Harker.
Immediately, the style of Longlegs is one of its most notable features. From its crafted aspect ratio to the color pallet which brings an awfully cold and tense viewing experience to life, the filmmaking behind Longlegs is impeccable. Every choice is focused and meaningful, meant to equally put the audience on edge while also giving a unique warmth at times which ultimately works to catch the audience off guard with a sudden drop into darkness. There is something deeply unsettling at the core of Longlegs and its design that creates one of the more creepy and engaging watches for the horror genre this year. The one negative is, at times, the usage of jumpscares which feel rather cheap within a film that is already so naturally horrifying.
This tension and unease bleeds into the lead performance by Monroe who is quite fantastic here. Giving a cold and reserved performance that wisely knows when to let larger emotions leak out to enhance the gravitas of a scene, Monroe truly gives a breakout performance here that speaks to her talents as an actor. It is somewhat disappointing that she has to contend with Nicolas Cage who is going to be the biggest make-it-or-break-it factor of the film for many. Cage's performance as Longlegs is a loud and wild roar that is truly camp at multiple points. While there are scenes where this works, there are also scenes where it feels like Cage pushes too far and becomes so outlandishly weird that he feels out of place in the film around him. The memeification of Cage over the last decade has created a fascinating cinematic identity for the actor as films often play into the joke of his wild on-screen presence to extremely mixed results. While it feels like Longlegs has a good grasp on trying to create something substantial and genuine with his performance, there are multiple occasions where it feels like the film loses control and the character is never as effective as it clearly should be as a result.
When it comes to the actual narrative of the film, Perkins' ambitious voice is obviously felt. For anyone expecting a completely grounded crime mystery in the same tone as Fincher's Zodiac, Longlegs evolves to something far more imaginative. Both in the lore and mythology surrounding these crimes and the third act as puzzle pieces are connected and larger reveals are exposed, Longlegs has a lot it is trying to accomplish and can get lost in trying to make it all fit. Rather than take a more simplistic route in its logic, Longlegs tries to expand with certain scenes, motivations, and general details feeling quite confusing on a first viewing. As the film tackles this, the base core of how characters act often gets overlooked leading to some major jumps with illogical decision-making and attitude.
While it is easy to get swept up in the experience of Longlegs in the moment on a first viewing as the viewer is trying to comprehend the world they are being thrown into, the more one sits with the film the more questions begin to form which will only be further exposed on multiple viewings. Once again, Perkins' ambition has led to a project that overlooks the importance of building a logical and solid foundation of world-building and structure, an issue seen throughout Perkins' filmography time and time again.
With that said, the presence of such ambition creates a viewing experience and overall feature that is at least interesting to engage with. In a time when so many directors who are given a major platform to express their voice turn to something overly safe or dull, Perkins crafts a feature that is undeniably unique to his vision as a director and it doesn't feel like he sacrifices anything along the way. One has to have respect for a filmmaker like this and it will be curious to see how his voice continues to grow with an adaptation of Stephen King's The Monkey already set for release in 2025.
While Longlegs might not be perfect, the film is still an effective thriller that is an easy recommendation overall. While not every choice will age well and there are undeniable moments where logic is tossed out the window, the final viewing experience is still both engaging and ultimately worthwhile for a clean 101-minute runtime.